Soul-mates
by Sode no Shirayuki1411
Summary: Every ten years the names of fifty couples aged 25 to 15 –heterosexual or not- are picked, out of a bowl, to become Soul Mates, bound together by the powers of a God named Arceus –whether they like it or not!- Personally some of them would've just rather gone to the Hunger Games. TOTAL CRACK PAIRINGS, YAOI, YURI, HET.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, my name's Sode no Shirayuki1411, some of you may know me from my other Pokemon fic; The World I Live In.**

**Whether you do or not there's a few things I'd like to say.**

**Firstly, the one pretty much every fanfic writer says at least once; reviews are loved and appreciated, but please be nice.**

**Secondly, this is a POKEMON ADVENTURES MANGA AU. If you play the games, you'll probably get it. If you only watch the anime, you probably wont understand much of the character's relationships. Just a warning.**

**Thirdly,I don't normally write romance fics. I write fics with romance IN them but this is the first fic where the romance is instrumental to the plot, aside from a challenge fic I did once. The point is, I am so far out of my comfort zone it's not even funny but I hope you'll work with me and help me become a better writer. Also, this is a CRACK PAIRING STORY. I don't even support these pairings. CRACK PAIRINGS EVERYWHERE!**

**Fourthly: surnames, there are, to the best of my knowledge, exactly four dex holders with surnames; Blue (the boy), Sapphire, Platinum and Y. Everybody elses I came up with, some are obvious, some have their Japanese name as their surname, some are named after the town they come from/have a connection to. If you don't understand why I gave a character a certain surname just ask, I probably have a reason.**

**Probably. Also I am calling Black-two and White-two by their game names; Nate and Rosa. Because Lack-two and Whi-two are terrible names, even by the standard of people who name their kids Red and Blue.**

**Lastly; to me Blue is the boy and Green is the girl.**

**Thank you for your time, please enjoy, I don't own Pokemon or the Hunger Games**

**WARNING(s): Swearing.**

**I'll shut up now.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Soul mates

"Today's the day," said Silver as their group -Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Gold, Crystal and himself- walked towards the huge school/university courtyard.

"Anyone else nervous?" Red asked.

Gold laughed lightly, "if by 'nervous' you mean _scared out of my mind,_ then yeah, I am kinda nervous."

Crystal stopped suddenly and bent over, resting her hands on her knees, her face white, "I'm not ready for this," she whispered, "25-15 was a _terrible_ idea, we're way too young to be picking our soulmates."

"You think you've got problems?" Asked Nate, a friend of Gold and Red's, "how do you think _we _feel?" He gestured at himself and his companions Hugh and Rosa, they were three of the 15 year old students who were going to maybe be picked.

Crystal smiled at them and straightened, she might be scared out of her mind, just like Gold, but she'd act brave to reassure the younger students, she'd act as though going to pick the man or woman she'd spend the rest of her life bound to was nothing.

But it wasn't nothing

Ruby, another friend of Red and Gold's, thus a friend of Nate's, appeared out of no-where and slung an arm around Nate's shoulders, "c'mon, the names of all the 25-15 year olds from around the _country_ will be in this thing. You're chances of being picked are _tiny!_ Virtually impossible!"

Nate looked slightly reassured, but not 100%, "I'm sure you're right," he said doubtfully.

"I'm never wrong. Trust me," said Ruby, miming a hair flip which he couldn't actually do because his short hair was hidden behind his strange white hat.

"Me? I don't care if I get picked or not, I just hope I get a guy," said Green cheerfully, blue skirt swishing as she skipped along.

"I just hope I _don't _get a guy," Silver grumbled, it didn't matter what your sexual orientation was, if you were picked, you _would_ be attracted to your partner, no matter what. There were upsides to this, homophobia was at an all-time low, bad idea to encourage or allow your children to dislike homosexual couples when there was a chance they'd end up tied to a person of the same sex. It still existed, but it was rare. Green and Silver were both perfectly fine with homosexuality, they just wanted a person of the opposite gender because it was familiar territory for them, Green didn't currently like girls and Silver didn't currently like boys and unless they were picked, they probably never would.

_Then again, _Gold thought, glancing at his red-haired companion, _I've never heard Silver admit to liking _anyone."I don't care if I get a guy as long as he's older than me," said Ruby promptly.

Green raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said you were straight." Ruby didn't _act _straight but looks could be deceiving. The fact that he and Sapphire had fallen in love at first sight when they were _five_ and been in an on-again, off-again (currently off-again) relationship since they were _eleven _helped his argument.

He smiled, "I am, but I wouldn't care if I ended up gay so long as my man is older than me. Being gay is fine with me. Being a gay cougar is _not_ fine with me," he winked.

"Well let's just hope your future male soulmate doesn't feel the same way, one of you has to be wrong," Green replied with a laugh.

They were almost at the courtyard, attendance was mandatory for high school/uni students aged 25-15 who went to PokeSpe University High (which is why they were here) but others who were in that age group and might be called out had come from all over the country, as had parents, so the huge space was already packed. Crystal shuddered; some people didn't _want _to come, if it was up to her she wouldn't be here. She'd be watching the announcement cocooned in her blanket at home, shaking.

They all gathered around the stage with the magic bowl on top of it. Well the bowl itself wasn't magic but the two pieces of paper inside it were. Every time they were picked out of the bowl they would have a different name of a person aged 25-15 at the time.

Their university/school professor stepped up to the microphone and bowl, Blue's heart-rate accelerated, he felt ill.

"My Grandfather is picking our soul-mates," he whispered, Red squeezed one shoulder, Green squeezed his other hand and Yellow slipped under Red's arm to hug him around the waist briefly before letting go.

Blue's grandfather, Professor Oak, cleared his throat and began to give a speech, first it was the generic 'the God Arceus has decided to...' about the soul mates, to how he hoped the fifty young people picked would be overjoyed with their opportunity, blah, blah, blah, Blue wasn't listening, neither were Red, Green or Gold. Silver had his eyes on the professor while Yellow and Crystal appeared to be hanging off his every word.

_Finally _it was actually time for the names to be picked, Professor Oak reached inside the bowl for the first piece of paper, two or three people in the crowd fainted.

"Cheren Aspertia," the Professor read out, there was an intake of breath from behind Red and Blue, it was Black, when had Black gotten there? Then Blue remembered, Cheren Aspertia was Black's closest friend.

The bespectacled black-haired sixteen year old, walked up to the stage, expression unreadable. He waited politely by the Professor for the name of his soul-mate to be called out.

Standing by Red, Blue and his other senior and junior friends, along with Pearl and Lady, Diamond felt sorry for the younger boy, Cheren didn't go to his school and he was more _Pearl's _friend than Diamond's, but Dia still felt bad for him. The chances of Cheren getting someone he knew, let alone someone he _liked _were, as Ruby had said, virtually impossible.

"Diamond Twinleaf."

Diamond blinked, Pearl shrieked, so did Lady. Dia blinked again, wait, what?

Pearl gave Dia a little shove and the darker-haired boy nearly fell flat on his face, why was Pearl shoving him? Oh yeah, he had to go up there.

Dia walked up to the stage, blushing, he wasn't bothered by all the people, Dia and Pearl wanted to be comedians, being on stage in front of people didn't bother Diamond.

The fact that his _soul-mate_ was waiting on the stage _did_ bother Dia a little bit, but only a bit, while Cheren was good at_ pretending_ to stay calm, Dia was good at _actually staying calm._

He reached the middle of the stage and glanced at Professor Oak briefly before reaching out with his right hand, Cheren hesitantly slipped his left into it, the second their skin touched a shining red thread wrapped itself around their smallest fingers. The thread was both magical and unbreakable; it lasted for 24 hours and prevented the pair from moving more than three meters away from each other. Dia smiled lazily at Cheren, hoping to put the other boy at ease, the smile was tightly returned then the two of them went to stand behind the stage as the crowd clapped politely. After everyone was picked they'd be on the news, interviewed etc but for now they could enjoy the quiet as everyone else were picked.

* * *

There were a few more names picked after Dia's, "how many has that been?" Crystal asked quietly, she wasn't really counting.

"Not really sure," Gold breathed back.

"Ten, counting Diamond's," said Silver.

Gold inclined his head, "he was, of course."

"Crystal Cherrygrove," Professor Oak called.

Crystal's knees turned to jelly, "wh-what did he say?" She asked shakily.

"You know exactly what he said," Silver said grimly, though he looked a little pale too, Gold ducked under one of Crystal's arms and Silver ducked under the other, together they dragged Crys to the stage. They left her at the steps that went up, "thanks guys," Crys whispered.

"We'll be right here when it's over," Silver promised, Gold nodded, uncharacteristically serious. Her friend's support, literal _support,_ made Crys feel better; she squared her shoulders, set her chin and walked up on stage.

Her soul-mate's name was called some guy with blue hair named Cress Stration, he didn't go to her school, or at least Crys didn't think he did, she was pretty sure she'd remember hair that blue if she'd seen it before. But he appeared to be about her age and seemed nice enough, offering Crys his right hand with a gentlemanly bow. She took it.

_Well, _Crys thought, _that's that._

* * *

Red was feeling uneasy, the chances of anyone he knew being picked were slim, but four couples had been picked after Crystal and out of thirty people, three he knew had been picked. And two of them he knew w_ell, _he was Gold's student mentor, who was Ruby's, who was Diamond's. And Crystal was a close friend of Gold and Green. This was weird. And not only had Cheren, Black's best friend (Diamond was Black's student mentor), been picked, but Cheren and Dia had been picked _together._

That was _really_ weird.

_They were secretly perfect for each other, who would've guessed? _Thought Red, the red string of fate/soul-mate bond didn't _make _people perfect for each other, people were only picked with someone they were _already _perfect with, they just didn't know it or weren't attracted to their gender/age/whatever.

_I guess true love can be found in the weirdest places, _Red thought.

"Red Ketchum."

Oh crap, now the twenty-three year old _really_ hoped that thought was true.

Now it was Blue's turn to sympathetically squeeze Red's shoulder. Red deliberately avoided looking at Yellow, they weren't a couple but they'd had a thing since they were both quite young, not as young as Ruby and Sapphire, but young.

Red locked eyes with his best friend's grandfather who was giving him a grandfatherly smile. Red glared, _bring it._

Professor Oak read off the name on the other piece of paper.

"Hugh Leonie."

If Red hadn't been so horrified, he would've face-palmed. Black was Nate's student mentor and Nate was Hugh's best friend. Hugh didn't go to their school, he went to Cheren's but Red had seen him around. He was okay, something of a hot-head, but Red was too back when he was Hugh's age.

Yeah, back then.

Hugh was _fifteen years old._

Red groaned, Bring it?! He shouldn't even have _thought _that! He should know better than to tempt fate by now!

Hugh walked onto the stage, dark scarlet eyes met bright, almost luminous ones the colour of fresh blood. Then the blood-coloured ones narrowed as Hugh glared at him, reaching out his hand.

This was going to be a _disaster!_

* * *

"Pearl Jun."

Pearl jumped slightly, first Dia, now him?!

He headed quickly towards the stand, not because he was eager but because he didn't believe in dawdling and doing things slowly, his heart was beating quickly, Pearl tried to convince himself it was only because he was using so much energy.

"Skyla Mistralton."

Pearl craned his neck slightly, trying not to look obvious doing it, as Skyla approached the stage.

When he finally caught a glimpse of her, he blinked, stunned.

Oh what had he gotten himself into now?!

* * *

"Blue Oak," Blue jumped slightly, so did Professor Oak, grandfather and grandson locked eyes, then Blue walked up to the stage.

_What the Hell? Why so many of us from the one school or our friends? Is life just trying to screw me over?_

"Yellow Viridian."

Blue's heart just about stopped beating. _Yes, _he thought dimly, _life _is_ just trying to screw me over._ Yeah Dia, Red and the others had all been picked, some of them with the last person they'd suspect.

But none of _them _had gotten their _best friend's girlfriend!_

* * *

"Ruby Yuki," it was a few names after Blue and Yellow, Ruby raised a dark eyebrow in surprise and offered a stunned-looking Sapphire an apologetic smile.

"I guess we were never meant to be after all," said Ruby. He started to pick his way through the crowd, trying to banish Sapphire's devastated eyes from his mind. Part of him was secretly relieved that he had been picked, no matter who his soul-mate turned out to be. Now he and Sapphire definitely had no chance. Ruby loved her, he did, and he knew that relief was a horrible emotion to feel right now. But at least he wouldn't have to keep trying and failing like he always had and had begun to feel he always would.

"Lack-two Kyohei." Professor Oak read off.

"Son of a bitch!" Ruby swore, making the Professor glance at him in concern. Ruby swore he heard a chuckle from someone behind the stage. Probably Red or Hugh. His own words about not caring if he got a guy as long as it was an _older _guy were ringing in his ears.

Lack-two Nate Kyohei, more commonly known by his middle name 'Nate,' came up to the stage and reached his hand out, glowering. Ruby took it.

"_'It's your first year,' _he said," drawled Nate quietly, the second he was within earshot of the older boy, "_'they're not going to pick you,'_ he said."

Ruby squeezed his fingers tightly, "I was wrong, alright?!" He snapped.

There was a twinkle in Nate's huge brown eyes, "_'I'm never wrong. Trust me,'_ he said."

The two of them walked off stage together, not knowing whether to fume...or laugh.

* * *

"Green Leaf."

"Yay! I'm not the only one who didn't get picked!" Some of the others had handled their really well and even been somewhat eager but there was always some level of trepidation at being partnered with someone they didn't know. Not with Green, she bolted up on stage, making a few people who knew her laugh.

"Red! Blue! Yellow! I got picked too!" She yelled excitedly to down behind the stage.

"We heard!" Red yelled back, actually sounding fairly cheerful. Blue was still stuck in his BSOD over getting Yellow and Yellow herself was feeling too awkward to say anything.

Professor Oak was about to pick the name of Green's soulmate when he was interrupted, _"I volunteer!"_ Gold yelled, jumping up and down, waving his arms around, _"I volunteer as tribute!"_

There was a ripple of laughter around him, Silver grabbed him and put him in a choke hold, behind the stage, standing with Cress, Crystal groaned and buried her face in her free hand. Professor Oak just rolled his eyes and picked the second name.

"White Touko!" Green squealed, half in happiness, half in surprise. Both surprise at White being picked and that they were apparently perfect for each other and had never even noticed. They were friends for God's sake!

White walked up to her, looking more bewildered than anything, Green hugged her and took her hand before letting the other girl lead her off stage.

"That's what I like to see!" Said Professor Oak, before going on to the next name.

* * *

"Sapphire Birch!" Sapphire almost breathed a sigh of relief. Now her feelings for Ruby wouldn't be one-sided, they'd go away, just like his feelings for her would. They could be friends. _She _could be happy.

Some eighteen year old girls might be apprehensive in her position, not Sapphire.

She boldly walked up to the stage and gave her dad's colleague a bright grin, Professor Oak smiled back.

"Black Touya."

Sapphire winced, she had been determined to greet whoever her soul-mate was with a smile. But _Black? _Firstly, he was a friend of Ruby's and Ruby's soul-mate Nate's senor mentor.

Secondly he was gay.

There were a lot of people –Ruby for one!- who had gotten someone of the same gender when they weren't into that gender previously. The soul-mate bond bonded you to the soul inside a person, regardless of gender (that's why it was called a _soul-_mate bond) but Black was the first person who'd gotten a heterosexual partner when he w_asn't _heterosexual, well as far as Sapphire knew.

Sapphire knew it wouldn't matter once he took her hand and the thread bonded them together, he'd love her for her. But did it _have _to be _Black?! _And did it _have _to be _her?!_

Black walked up to her, his usually energetic face looking ill. Sapphire smiled understandingly at him, being gentle, as gentle as _Sapphire _could, she took his left hand.

* * *

"Gold Hibiki." Gold nearly had a heart attack, "Me too?!" he yelped.

"Why are you surprised at this stage," Asked Silver. Gold stared at him, "it's true, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Pearl, Black, White _and_ Nate have all been picked. The universe obviously hates us," the redhead continued.

"Or they all gravitated together because subconsciously they realized they were meant for each other," said Wally, a friend of Ruby's who didn't go to their school.

"You're an optimistic one," said Silver, he turned back to Gold, "you should get up there, do you want me to walk to the stage with you?" After Crystal's soul-mate was announced they'd gone back to stand with their friends.

"Nah, it's fine, thanks." Said Gold, managing a grin. He and Silver gripped each other's hands briefly and Gold bumped his shoulder against the other boy's before confidently walking up on stage and giving Professor Oak a cocky smirk. Blue's grandfather just rolled his eyes at the troublemaker.

"Bianca Bel."

Gold's brow furrowed. He wasn't upset or anything, but he swore he knew that name. Unfortunately he was terrible with names and faces and was unable to remember if he knew her or not until he actually _saw _Bianca.

Then it clicked.

She was Black's friend! The pretty, bubbly blonde who went to the same school as Cheren, Wally and Hugh.

But right now Bianca didn't look bubbly, she looked terrified. Gold smiled at her, hoping she'd recognize him too. Bianca cowered and shrank back. Not good.

_A blonde, _Gold thought, a_ gorgeous, busty, blonde. Silver's _never _going to let me live this down!_

* * *

It had been forty-three couples, eighty-six people. Five couples, ten people since Gold and Bianca were picked, Silver had been keeping count. They were near the end.

"Silver Visrotti," Silver's eyebrow rose, _why are you surprised at this stage? _He asked himself mentally as he had Gold. Shrugging, nothing he could do about it, Silver walked up on stage. He was completely calm, unlike some of the others;

Silver had complete faith in his ability to stay on his feet when life pulled the rug out from under him.

That was until he heard his soul-mate's (though Silver was beginning to doubt Arceus's judgement) name.

"Saturn Galactic."

Forget BSODing, yelping in surprise or swearing, Silver nearly _died. _What very few people knew was that he was the criminal mastermind Giovanni's only child. What even fewer people knew was that while he was Giovanni's only child, his mother Arianna had another child, a daughter a four years older than Silver, named Mars.

Saturn was Mars's boyfriend.

_Fuck you life! _Silver yelled mentally, setting his jaw, he'd never actually _met _Saturn but he'd seen him at a distance and in photos. It was definitely the same guy. Not that he'd considered the possibility that it wasn't, Saturn Galactic wasn't exactly a common name.

Saturn walked up on stage, he'd never seen even a photo of Silver but he'd heard the name from Mars. Not to mention he looked _exactly like her. _Only their eyes were different, Silver's small silver eyes were nothing like Mars's huge red ones.

Silver held out his hand as Saturn did the same. Cobalt blue met shining silver, _well fuck, _thought Saturn.

Silver couldn't help it, his only thought was_ Gold's never going to let me live this down!_

* * *

Platinum 'Lady' Berlitz held her breath, this was the last couple, pretty much all of her friends had been picked, she was almost safe. She gripped Rosa's hand tightly in one of hers and leaned down to tightly grip Emerald's in the other. They were the only three left! This was ridiculous!

"Misty Katsumi."Okay, Platinum didn't know that girl, not her problem.

"Platinum Berlitz."

Well it was now!

* * *

**Okay, several things. The real plot begins next chapter. This was just to get the names out. It was horribly boring and for that I apologize but the crack romance starts soon.**

**Like, really soon, it's crazy.**

**Second, just an interesting theory I've heard that Mars and Silver are related, and they ARE kind of identical.**

**Other than that, hope you enjoyed. Until next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys, I'm back! Sorry I was gone so long, just after I updated the first chapter it became November and since I was doing the NaNoWriMo write 50,000 words in a month challange I didn't really have time for anything else, but now I'm here so please enjoy.**

**I own nothing.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Cheren, Dia, Crys and Cress

Diamond breathed a sigh of relief as they reached his door, "well that was exhausting," he said to Cheren. Referring to both the interviews and reporters and the actual picking of the names itself.

Cheren nodded, looking slightly nervous, "you told your mother I'll be with you, right?" Diamond had called his mother to say he was coming home, Cheren knew he had told her about him, he'd been standing three feet away while Dia had the conversation, he was just nervous. Neither of his own parents were home, yet. They probably hadn't even heard that he was the first person in Japan to be picked. Most teens would've told their parents immediately, not Cheren. His would find out eventually anyway, he figured.

Dia fished his key out of his pocket, "don't worry, I did," he said, his slate-grey eyes full of understanding.

Cheren had actually offered to go back to Diamond's to stay but Dia had compromised, when he heard Cheren's parents wouldn't be back until six he offered to stay at Cheren's overnight if they went to his house first, his mother would be desperate to meet Cheren. Dia had even offered to have his mother Jessica meet them at Cheren's at 3:30 (it was 2:40 now, she was at a dentist's appointment) if Cheren would rather meet his soul-mate's mother at his own house.  
The older boy was being very accommodating to make Cheren feel less nervous and he really appreciated it.

The two were barely through the door when they heard a car pull up, Dia turned to Cheren, "you ready?" Cheren got the feeling that Dia would genuinely keep his mother out if Cheren said he wasn't.

"Yes," when the older boy looked uneasy, Cheren raised an eyebrow, "seriously, I'm fine, stop worrying about me."

Dia nodded and opened the door for his mother.

Instantly Jessica threw one arm around her son and the other around Cheren.

"I'm so sorry sweetie, I wanted to be there but this was the only free time for the appointment, no-one else wanted it, obviously." She explained to her son in a rush.

"It's fine ma," said Dia lazily, nothing seemed to rattle him, or if it did he was really good at hiding it, Cheren was envious.

Jessica then turned to Cheren and embraced him fully, "and you must be Cheren, you have no idea how happy I am to meet you sweetie. I'm Jessica Twinleaf, but you can call me Mum. Or Jess if that makes you more comfortable."

"Jess then," Cheren said numbly, even though he really would prefer to call her Jessica, he really wasn't expecting this. His mother would be freaking out by now. Apparently Dia got his calm and his compassion from his mother.

Jessica moved to the kitchen, "it took me a bit longer to get home, when I heard you were coming Cheren I decided to stop off and get some tea and cake, I figured you could both use a bite to eat."

Diamond perked up at the word 'cake' and Cheren remembered Black saying that his mentor was a big eater.

"You didn't have to go to any trouble just because I'm here, I don't want to inconvenience you" said Cheren, polite as always.

Jess beamed, happy that her son had gotten a well-mannered soul-mate at least. "We're family now sweetie, you're no trouble."

Cheren _had_ been calming down but at the word 'family' he felt ill again. He wasn't sure he could do this.

Though he wouldn't deny he was curious. The whole subjects of soul-mates had always fascinated Cheren. He was a very independent person and a bit of a control freak, he liked to have control over things in his life, especially if they were something as personal as his own emotions and feelings! The idea that holding hands with someone whose name was picked out of a bowl with his could change how he felt about a total stranger completely had always fascinated Cheren, in a morbid sort of way.

It seemed to be different depending on the couple, some fell instantly in love and never wanted to be apart from the beginning, some were just instantly at ease around the other person despite never having met them before, some were instantly attracted to their partner and much more comfortable about a physical relationship. They all had one thing in common though, within a year they were all madly in love.

Cheren brushed his bangs out of his eyes, he wasn't in love with Dia, nor did he want to kiss him senseless -though he had already noticed he thought Diamond's calm grey eyes and well-proportioned features were attractive when he'd never thought that about a guy before- and he _did _feel at ease around Dia, despite the immensity of their situation.

But Cheren wasn't sure if that was because of their bond or because, unlike the vast majority of the soul-mates, he'd actually known Diamond beforehand, if only vaguely.

Jessica was peering at him intently and Cheren became aware that he'd zoned out while thinking, "yes ma'am?" He said, phrasing it as a question.

Jessica huffed, "no 'ma'ams' okay Cheren? And I was just thinking that you actually look kinda familiar."

"He's Black's best friend," Dia said quietly.

"Black? The boy you're tutoring?!" Jessica asked incredulously, what were the chances of that?

"Yes," said Dia.

"Black got picked to," Cheren told Jessica.

"Really?! What's his soul-mate like?"

"It's Sapphire," said Dia.

"Sapphire who?" Asked Jessica blankly, not recognizing the name.

"Sapphire Birch, Ruby's best friend...and on and off girlfriend," her son explained.

"Ruby? The guy who's tutoring _you?!" _Jessica asked.

"Yes," said Dia.

"Ruby got picked too," said Cheren, sensing a pattern developing here.

"Oh my God, _really?! _What are the chances of that?!" Jessica gasped, "oaky, what's _his _soul-mate like?"

"It's Nate," said Dia.

Jessica just huffed slightly, familiar with how infuriatingly vague her son could be, "okay, Nate _who?"_

"The boy Black's mentoring," said Cheren.

"Wait, wait, wait!" said Jessica, throwing up her hands, "so your mentor is soul-bound Nate, and you're Nate's mentor's mentor? And _your _mentor's old girlfriend/best friend is bound to the guy _you're _mentoring."

"What?" Asked Diamond blankly.

"Yes," said Cheren, who'd somehow followed all that.

"Wow!" Jessica exclaimed, "that's amazing! What are the chances of that?"

"Mum, everyone got picked," said Dia quietly, "not just the six of us, all of us. Senior Red and his friends, Blue, Green and Yellow. Blue and Yellow got picked_ together. _Green got Black's friend White."

"Red got the boy _I'm _mentoring, Hugh, Nate's best friend." Cheren interrupted.

Jessica put a hand over her mouth.

The two boys went on to explain everything that had happened, with every mention of someone they knew (six couples, but fifteen people counting Gold, Silver, Crys, Pearl and Lady who had all been picked with strangers), Jessica's eyes got bigger and bigger. When she heard that Pearl had been chosen too she nearly got up out of her chair and bolted over to next-door where her second son lived.

"That's..." she said eventually, struggling for words, she huffed a slight laugh, "well I was going to say 'impossible' but, obviously, it isn't."

"It's just strange," said Cheren.

"Very," Jessica agreed, "I'll definitely have to watch it when it's aired again tonight!" Then she clapped her hands together, "but that's not important. How are you two feeling? That's what matters."

Dia and Cheren glanced at each other, "exhausted," said Cheren honestly.

* * *

Dia and Cheren walked slowly on the way back to Cheren's house, when they'd heard that Cheren was tired both Dia and his mother insisted they take Cheren back to his own house, Jessica had offered to drive them but Cheren didn't want to inconvenience her and said honestly that he wouldn't mind the walk. Dia agreed that it was a nice day and that he wouldn't mind walking. So he and Cheren headed upstairs to pack a change of clothes for Dia and then headed off to Cheren's place.

Before they left Dia knocked at Pearl's door but no-one answered, texting him, Dia found that he and his mother had gone over to Skyla's apartment but everything was going okay. Dia told Cheren that Pearl was lying, Cheren didn't know how you could tell someone was lying over a text message but figured that Dia knew Pearl better than he did so maybe he could tell.

They were silent for a bit on the way there, then Dia started to ask questions, by the halfway mark Cheren's head was spinning as he'd barely taken a breath the whole way there. Diamond's questions weren't hard or invasive, but he wanted to know everything; Cheren's favourite colour, ice cream flavour, likes, dislikes, hobbies, school subjects, ambitions, pets, family, friends, everything, barely giving Cheren the chance to draw a breath or ask a question of his own.

"Your mother's nice," said Cheren when there was finally a lull in their one-sided conversation.

Dia smiled, "yeah, she is."

_What's your father like? _Cheren wanted to ask, but didn't want to seem invasive, he himself had both of his parents but a lot of kids aged 14 and up, Black, White, Nate, Hugh and Mei included, didn't have fathers, or sometimes mothers, because many had been killed in the great war that had ended only two and a half years after Cheren was born. Maybe Dia was one of those.

Diamond seemed to read his mind, "No father. I've never even met him. I'm not even sure my mother knows who he is. It's always just been the two of us. We're happy."

"That sounds nice," said Cheren, then he realized how stupid and potentially hurtful his words were. Raising a child as a single parent wasn't an option for him anymore and he didn't want Diamond to think he was resentful of that.

Luckily Dia didn't seem bothered by it, he just hummed slightly and said nothing else.

"Well, this is it," said Cheren, a couple of questions later.

Dia blinked, Cheren squirmed, even though, or maybe because, his soul-mate had said nothing, "I know it's a bit...precise, both my parents are lawyers and I get my tidiness from them. Don't worry; we're not nearly as bad as the front makes us look." As he led Dia into the house Cheren glanced at the wall of meticulously pruned white rosebushes and winced, they just screamed 'neat-freak house!' He definitely would've done _something _about those had he known he'd be bringing someone back with him.

Cheren unlocked the door and pocketed his keys again, "make yourself at home."

The second he turned around Diamond's mouth pressed gently against his, Cheren's spine stiffened and then he relaxed into the kiss, it felt nice. He never thought he'd ever consider the possibility that kissing another guy, let alone one he knew only vaguely would feel good. Dia's hands held his elbows lightly, steadying him but giving him plenty of room to pull away if he wanted to. Cheren rested his hands on the other boy's upper arms and made no move to pull away.

The kiss was short and sweet, then Dia pulled back, smiling slightly, "sorry, I just wanted to know what that would be like."

Cheren swallowed, their kiss had been short but his throat was oddly dry and his lips tingled, "me too," he admitted.

"And how was it?" Dia asked, that calm, warm look was still in his eyes. It was the same look he always wore but never before had it made Cheren's skin tingle  
like it did now, he felt ultra-sensitive, even his normal shirt chafed.

"Nice," he admitted honestly.

"Just nice?" Diamond asked.

"How did you find it?" Cheren asked, only now could he feel a blush rising in his cheeks, he'd never exactly discussed kissing with a person he'd just kissed, guy or girl. It wasn't like he'd never been kissed at all, he had, but this was new territory for him.

"Nice," said Dia, also looking slightly shy.

"Maybe we should try again," said Cheren, surprising himself with his own boldness.

Dia's daring surprised him even further when the older boy grabbed Cheren by the waist and yanked him forward crushing their lips together. Then Cheren surprised himself further by the burst of pleasure that ran through him, starting at his mouth and radiating outwards, he grabbed Dia's shirt and pulled him closer. One of them moaned into the kiss but Cheren honestly wasn't sure which one of them it was. Cheren's back hit the wall as Diamond pressed against him, his hands moved from the curve of the younger boy's waist, one went to the small of Cheren's back and the other to his hip, pulling him even closer.  
Cheren's arms went around Diamond's neck, one rested there while his other hand twined itself in short, messy locks, knocking Dia's hat to the floor, neither boy noticed.

Dia's tongue brushed Cheren's lips, asking for entrance, with a moan (that Cheren was sure was him this time) Cheren parted his lips and allowed his tongue to dance with Dia's. Diamond sucked on his tongue making Cheren moan again. Then he wrenched himself back, breaking their kiss and the two boys stood staring at each other panting.

"Sorry, that got slightly out of hand," Dia rasped.

_Slightly? _Cheren asked mentally, they'd both gotten very out of hand. Physically he just nodded shakily, Diamond's face was as white as his felt.  
Just then there was a scrape of a key in the lock, both boys jumped as though they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't be.

"They're back early," said Cheren, his voice sounded funny. He went and opened the door, "mother, father, welcome back. There is someone I'd like you to meet."

* * *

**Crystal and Cress**

Crystal felt nervous, understandably so, but this was one of the (very) few moments she wished she could be more like Gold. He wasn't nervous, she saw as he pulled his blonde partner along behind him, moving forwards to greet her parents enthusiastically. The blonde girl's father (well Crystal was assuming it was her father), immediately kicked Gold in the shins, and then again when he staggered. The girl, Bianca, if Crystal remembered correctly, screamed at her  
father to stop, Gold swore explosively and Crystal hid her face in her hand, _only Gold..._

She turned away, and nearly collided with Cress's chest, somehow he'd gotten behind her without tugging on the red thread between them, she glanced up at him and he snapped his phone shut.

"Um, hi," said Crys lamely, immediately she wanted to slap her own forehead.

Cress smiled, "hello Crystal."

When she didn't say anything in return he prompted their conversation, "that was my brother Cilan on the phone, do you mind if we go straight to my restaurant from here? Unless you would rather we go to your house?"

"You have a restaurant?" Crystal asked, she was fine with that, her mother wasn't going to be home anyway, she was out travelling Europe. Again.  
But more importantly, he had a restaurant?!  
"Um, yes, I mean no," Crystal wanted to hit herself in the head again, "yes, we can go straight there. No, I don't have anywhere else I'd rather go."

Cress searched her face for a minute, trying to make sure she wasn't just giving in or doing something would make her uncomfortable just to make him happy but eventually nodded and smiled, "wonderful, thank you." He cleared his throat, "I feel as though I haven't properly introduced myself," he gave another short bow, "my name is Cress Stration, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Well making each other's acquaintance was not exactly how Crystal would phrase what had happened today, nevertheless Crys was a friendly girl so she smiled and held out her hand, "I'm Crystal Cherrygrove, It's nice to meet you."

Cress had warned her he had two brothers, what he hadn't warned her about was... everything else...

The restaurant Cress and his brothers; Chili (the fiery redhead) and Cilan (his smiling green-haired brother) ran was a nice place on the edge of town, cluttered, but comfortably so, with food and drink all made by Cress and his brothers personally.

When Cress had first told her he and his brothers owned their own restaurant Crys had been seriously impressed. She had also wondered why he was wearing a waiter's uniform if he _owned _the restaurant.

She found out upon arrival that this was because he and his two brothers were the only people who worked there, they cooked, cleaned, waited and maned the cash register on their own, it looked exhausting.

Crys offered to help, of course, her mother had raised her as a workaholic but all three brothers shot her down.

When she and Cress first walked through the doors Crystal had been tense but not overly nervous, she seemed to be in good hands, and, as she constantly reminded herself, this man was her soul mate, the person whom, once Crys got to know and understand him, would be the exact match for her in every possible way. This was a good situation, Crys reminded herself, really.

The restaurant was clean and shiny; it was a small place, more like a cafe in its cute style with round tables and general ambiance, when Crystal and Cress walked in a green haired boy with the same facial features and uniform as Cress smiled at them, a loaded plate in each hand, "oh Cress! You're back, how was it? Wonderful timing brother dear, we're swamped... who's this?" His round, grass coloured eyes grew even rounder as he took in the red threat that linked their hands, he set the plates down quickly in front of the customers who had requested them and wrung his hands in his apron in astonishment, "Chili!"

The two customers the green haired male had been serving looked over at Crys and Cress to see what he was staring at, they both gasped in astonishment, "congratulations!" The woman said.

Cress gave them one of his polite smiles, "why thank you very much," he said cordially, he leaned down slightly to Crystal's ear, "this is my middle brother Cilan," he said, nodding at the green haired boy who was still blinking in astonishment.

A boy with curly red hair that stuck upwards wearing the same uniform as Cress and Cilan approached them, "I have a stew that's gonna burn in a minute Ci, this had better be..." he trailed off as he caught sight of his blue-haired brother, the red thread connecting him to Crystal and Crys herself, "good," he finished through numb lips.

"And this is my youngest brother Chili," said Cress, indicating the redhead.

"So you're the oldest. How far apart in age are you?" Crys asked.

"About forty-five minutes each," said Cress.

"Oh wow, triplets," said Crys, well aware she was stating the obvious.

"Yeah," Cress sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as his red-haired brother Chili raced towards them, skidding to a halt right in front of Crys.

Cress made a dramatic sweeping gesture with one arm as though presenting his brother to Crystal, "welcome to my Hell," he muttered.  
That sounded comforting...

* * *

Crystal found out that he was being dramatic, Cilan was fine, Chili was fine, Chili and Cress together... not so fine.

They were like fire and water, always clashing with one another with totally opposing opinions, Cilan was little help, popping around with his ever present smile, he just advised Crystal to stay out of their way, they'd calm down on their own... eventually.

Cress, who'd been so quiet and mature with Crys was a totally different person with Chili, they were brothers. They acted like brothers, squabbling and arguing over every little possible thing.

But Cilan was right, eventually Chili and Cress did calm down.

Chili ran out of steam and went to go start some new dishes in the kitchen to cool off, Cress pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, again, and sighed, again.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to Crys, a slightly chagrined blush covering his cheeks, "siblings, right?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm an only child," said Crystal.

Cress's eyebrows rose, "really, I-"

Whatever he'd been about to say, Crystal never found out, just then a woman with short blonde hair burst through the door, "Cress!"

Cress looked up.

The woman stormed over to him and grabbed his vest, "I can't believe this! You got another woman! I thought you loved me!"

Crys swallowed, uh oh.

* * *

**So many questions! How will Cheren's uptight parents take meeting his male soul mate? Who is Cress's mystery lady? Where the heck did the line breaks on fan fic . net run off to?! Actually it's okay, I found them. And yes, I did seriously pick these parings from a hat. Well actually it was a bowl.**

**R &amp; R guys, please tell me what you think.**

**See you next time.**


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